Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Donald Trump in a phone call Wednesday that Moscow was obligated to respond to Ukraine’s weekend drone attack, Trump said, setting up a potential escalation in the conflict just as the US president hopes to broker an end to the war.

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President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Vladimir Putin intends to retaliate “very strongly” against Ukraine for a surprise drone strike on Russian airfields over the weekend, a declaration that provoked alarm in Washington and abroad even as Trump touted his efforts to bring peace to the region.